


The Things that Define Us

by reuni0n



Category: Fate/Grand Order, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: is this shirou/rin? you decide, romani and da vinci are clearly married, this was supposed to be 1k words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 11:36:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28706040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reuni0n/pseuds/reuni0n
Summary: Shirou looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if we'd ever have something like that…is there even a chance for us to become Heroic Spirits ourselves?"Rin hummed, closing her eyes. "Who knows? Even if we did…"Some bonds can surpass even time and space.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 48





	The Things that Define Us

"Good job, Emiya-kun!" said Rin, handing a bottle of water to the panting teenager sitting on the floor right next to her, covered in a sheen of sweat as the Tohsaka magus finished her tutoring for the day.

"Thanks," said Shirou taking the bottle from her hand and dumping half of its contents right away down his throat. Training with Rin tended to leave him exhausted, and this time was no exception. The water felt like liquid heaven.

"It's good to see that some of the things I tell you actually stick in your head. At this rate, maybe your grandchildren will be half-decent magi," said Rin, mouth doing a very poor job at concealing an impossibly smug smirk.

Normally Shirou wasn't one to react to Rin's teasing, but he felt adventurous today. "Really? If they have your blood then they should be very talented right out the door, shouldn't they?"

"W-what are you saying?!" Rin screamed, face reddening so much you could compare it to the ruby she was playing with just a few seconds ago. Which now was in danger of shattering under the pressure of her grip.

"Sorry, I couldn't contain myself," said Shirou, chuckling.

Rin looked away, pouting. "Don't just say things like that, geez…"

"Though, I'd like to add," Shirou continued while holding up a finger, "I'd much rather my children weren't magi at all."

"Yeah?" Rin said, turning her gaze back to him.

"Yeah. Based on what you've told me the world of magi sounds like a terribly cutthroat place. I don't think that's a good environment for a child to grow in."

"Hey," Rin said, voice so low it almost sounded like a growl, "are you saying I came out messed up or something?"

"You draw out blood to pour it on gems every other day, " Shirou said, quickly drinking the remainders of his bottled water. His body ached for more. "As for me, I spent the last couple of years almost crippling myself on a nightly basis. I don't think either of us can say we came out 'fine', don't you think?"

Rin huffed, but didn't argue. She was well aware that a magi's worldview would be eternally at odds with that of a 'normal' person. "That's so like you."

Shirou smiled. "What's so bad about wanting your descendants to live normal lives?"

"Nothing, nothing at all," Rin said, shaking her head. "Hey, Emiya-kun. If you were a Servant, what do you think your catalyst would be?"

Shirou's eyebrow raised. "Catalyst?"

"Yeah! You know, the specific relics magi use to increase their odds of summoning a specific Servant with the ritual! Come on, we had this conversation a few days ago!"

Shirou rubbed his chin, memories flowing in. "You're right, I remember now. But I don't know. How about a sword?"

" _A sword?!_ " Rin exclaimed, as though Shirou had just grown three heads. "That's so non-specific anyone who tried summoning you that way would just end up with any sword wielder of legend!"

Shirou shrugged. "Well, I don't think I can come up with anything better. How about a piece of this tee?" Shirou asked, pointing at his characteristic blue-and-white shirt. Rin probably didn't know that he actually owned a dozen of these.

Rin snorted. "Sure. They might as well try with a plate of homemade food, then?"

"That sounds good, actually. I hadn't thought of that."

Rin couldn't help but to rub her temple after hearing that. "You're incredible… Well, anyway. I wonder what would my catalyst be…" Rin said, sinking deep into thought for a few seconds.

"Oh, that one's easy," Shirou said, getting up from the floor and making his way to the kitchen, leaving a surprised Rin behind. When he came back with two bottles of water (he gave one to his teacher, who sheepishly took it) he simply said "Gems."

"What?"

"Yeah," Shirou said, quickly beginning to work on the second bottle, "like, a big stack of high quality gems."

Rin looked at him, before following his example and taking a sip from her own bottle as she sat on the lone bed in the room. "That's not specific at all. Gems could call any servant related to wealth and riches. Maybe even deities like Lakshmi or Ishtar."

"I guess you're right," Shirou said, before sitting right next to her, oblivious of the small blush setting into Rin's cheeks, "catalysts are usually objects of great importance in a Heroic Spirit's legend, aren't they?"

Rin nodded. "Yeah. Either that or something that directly belonged to them, like a piece of their coat or a shard of their armor."

Shirou looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder if we'd ever have something like that…is there even a chance for us to become Heroic Spirits ourselves?"

Rin hummed, closing her eyes. "Who knows? Even if we did…"

"Yeah?"

"I wonder. Even if we did, would we get to meet again?"

Rin silently wished for that to be the case.

**\----------**

Romani Archaman looked ahead at the place where the summoning ritual was supposed to take place, and exhaled for such a long time any bystander would believe he was deflating. Today they were going to attempt by far their most ambicious summon to date, which means they were pulling all the stops.

That meant that on top of Mash's shield, currently sitting on the floor right in the center of the room, sat a truly mind boggling amount of precious gems. Romani grimaced for what must be the hundredth time today, and addressed the woman currently standing to the back and left of him. "You know, we could feed an entire small country with the amount of money those gems are worth."

Da Vinci simply laughed. "Come on, who's gonna punish us? The UN? They can say whatever they want after they come back alongside that people that need food, because right now I don't see either of them anywhere."

Romani sighed. This woman was impossible to argue with. After Ritsuka had stuck into her head the idea that "After everything we went through on the Demonic Front, surely Ishtar will answer to us!", Da Vinci had gone to work on the project of producing a catalyst that would be fitting for no mere Servant, but a goddess. He expected her to make a replica of the Boat of Heaven or something of the sort, not this…grotesque display of riches. Given the way the rest of the personnel looked at the small glittering mountain, at least it seemed like he wasn't the only one with that kind of opinion.

Fujimaru was right on one thing, however. The power a deity brought to the table, especially one so ancient (and related to war, to boot), could not be ignored. That alone was the only fact that convinced him to add Ishtar to the ever growing list of Servants that Chaldea's only master thought would make for 'fine allies.' _That girl will be the death of us all…_

As if on cue, humanity's last hope yelled from below: "Hey! Are we ready to begin?" she asked, a truly devilish grin on her face as she clutched a bunch of even more gems, these ones shining a particular shade of rainbow. Saint Quartz, containers of immense amounts of mana, and the ones responsible for kickstarting the summoning ritual. And also, incidentally, Gudako's favorite thing in the world in days like these.

Romani sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Mash, are you ready?"

Standing up to attention, the lavender haired girl gave him an energetic "Yes!"

Turning off the comms for a second, Romani looked back at the one who allowed this to happen. "Leonardo, for both our sakes I truly hope this goes well."

"Will you please chill for a second?" Da Vinci said, playfully punching his shoulder. "Or are you implying my calculations are wrong?"

"We have no way of predicting what will happen. We could end up destroying Mash's shield, which would surely be game over for us. Or we don't, and whatever comes out isn't at all friendly to us or our cause."

This time it was Da Vinci's turn to sigh. "Chaldea's summoning system can't summon deities. If we succeed, the only Ishtar that can come out will be the one the girls met in Babylonia."

Romani swore under his breath, but argued no further. Turning back to the increasingly impatient Master, he turned the comms back on and simply said "Begin."

Ritsuka grinned, and quickly turned around to commence. If things came out right she could meet Ishtar again! She was so excited! Briefly turning towards Mash, who gave her a reassuring nod and smile, she let her magic circuits come to life as the Command Seals imprinted on her hand began shining a bright red. Along with the flow of mana through her body came the familiar but always annoying pain, which she did her best to endure.

Feeling as though she might fall over any second, she wasted no time as she let the mana flow from her fingers to the rainbow stones in her hands, as they began to shine and float away, drawn to the shield on the floor, where they began dissipating as a magic circle begun appearing in their place. Soon enough, the stack of gems started shining as well, and Ritsuka knew this was the do or die moment.

"Ritsuka, now!" she could hear Da Vinci say.

Taking a deep breath, she began chanting:

I _call forth into time, to beings of legend._

_Through wishes crystallized, one of the self, one of the collective, and one of mankind, these are the final wishes of humanity._

_Through you, I embody salvation. Through me, you embody will. To those that hail to heed the call, come forth, and let us fight as one will!_ **_Come here, Ishtaaaaaar!!_**

A blinding flash of light covered the entire world. Amidst it could be seen what would be an indistinct silhouette for most, but for those who were familiar with it…

Ignoring the flashes of pain currently assaulting her whole body, Ritsuka leapt straight at the figure before even being able to see it, excitement clearly pouring out of her entire body and most importantly, mouth. "Ishtaaaaar! It's so good to see you again!"

When the light finally faded, everyone's eyes were drawn to the trio of girls standing on the middle of the floor: Mash, struggling to keep her composure as she saw the raven-haired goddess of war struggle with the assault of her new Master.

"Hey! Hey! What's the meaning of this! Whoever you are, get off this instant!" Ishtar cried out, before her eyes widened in recognition. "You!"

Ritsuka grinned, looking impossibly happy with herself. "Yeah, it's me! Aren't you glad?"

Ishtar huffed, an expression of utter disbelief on her face. "Unbelievable! You intend to make me make a contract with you again?!"

Ritsuka simply bobbed her head up and down. She had missed her so much.

**\----------**

Twelve days after, everyone was starting to get slightly over the commotion of having a goddess walk down the same halls as them. The fact that they were doing yet another summoning attempt today helped.

Romani slumped on his chair, utterly exhausted. Whether it was from exertion or just the circumstances, it was anyone's guess.

"Man, our little Ritsuka sure comes up with some wild ideas, wouldn't you say?" Da Vinci asked him in a sweet tone of voice.

"You can say that again," Romani replied, his arm covering half of his face. "Sengo Muramasa! The most famous swordsmith of all time! What the hell is she thinking!"

"Well, you can't deny having a guy like that around would be interesting," Da Vinci said, smiling.

Romani turned around, pointing at her accusingly. "Stop entertaining her! Shouldn't you be working on things that will help us, instead of pulling gems and a super ancient anvil out of nowhere?!"

Da Vinci winked at him. "What could be more helpful to our cause than more capable allies?"

"And this is supposed to be the genius of legend. Sometimes I feel like the only sane person here," Romani grumbled.

Da Vinci giggled. "Odds are, most days that would be the case."

Romani couldn't stop himself from groaning. "I need another job."

\-----

Two hours later, preparations for the attempted summoning of Sengo Muramasa were complete. Much like the last time, Ritsuka could barely contain her excitement, as she seemed to vibrate right where she stood, the struggle of having to carry an anvil by herself to the summoning circle bothering her not at all. Mash and a myriad other servants had offered to help after seeing her struggling figure, but Ritsuka denied all of them claiming that "if she didn't do it herself it wouldn't count."

Admirable words, certainly, thought everyone. If only they didn't come from a girl that was clearly punching far above her weight. Martha thought of dragging her Master to the gym and getting her into a workout routine after this was all over.

As Mash and Ritsuka went over the preparations one last time, Ishtar entered the summoning room, the hydraulic hiss of the door alerting everyone of her presence immediately. "Oh? What's going on?" she asked, before her eyes zeroed on the pair downstairs.

"Hey!" Romani cried out, "you can't be here! And that door is supposed to be locked!"

"You think a mere lock is a match against my Authority? Funny." Ishtar replied, a mixture of disdain and pride dripping from her voice. Romani instantly understood that nothing he said would have any effect on her.

"Hey, Ishtar!" a voice cried out from below. "We're getting ready to summon another Heroic Spirit!"

"Is that so?" Ishtar asked as she elegantly flew down. Shortly after her summoning Gudako had given her a fairly in-depth explanation of the system that had allowed them both to be reunited, so she had an idea of what would happen. "Who is it?"

"Muramasa!"

"Really now?" Ishtar looked at the anvil, then at Ritsuka, then back at the anvil. "Wait a second, then. Don't start just yet."

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Ritsuka's words reached deaf ears as Ishtar quickly flew out the room, and all she could do was glance at Mash who was clearly as confused as her.

When Ishtar finally returned, she returned by foot, carefully carrying a plate of what appeared to be freshly made food, made by one of the resident Servants in the kitchen. But that homely style was undoubtedly…

"Oooh, it's Emiya-san's cooking!" Ritsuka cried out, eyes widening as her mouth watered. "Is that for me?"

"What? No. It's for the summoning," Ishtar said in a matter of fact tone.

A collective huh? could be heard.

Ishtar rolled her eyes. "Trust me on this one." She was a goddess of love too, after all. How could she not know what could be used to attract others?

Ritsuka and Mash could do nothing but shrug at one another.

\-------

"Alright then, begin."

Ritsuka didn't need to be told twice. Going through the same familiar process again, she exhaled. This never gets easier, does it? Holding out her hand, the chant began:

_I call forth into time, to beings of legend._

_Through wishes crystallized, one of the self, one of the collective, and one of mankind, these are the final wishes of humanity._

_Through you, I embody salvation. Through me, you embody will. To those that hail to heed the call, come forth, and let us fight as one will!_

Just like before, a blinding flash of light covered the entire room, as Ritsuka could feel her magic circuits strain themselves as they reached their limit. She could feel her mana flowing towards a new Heroic Spirit, which means she succeeded…!

This time, the figure standing in the quickly dissipating light didn't waste a moment as they began speaking, walking forward: "Saber, Sengo Muramasa. I've responded to your summons. Although I'm only a…" he said, before being cut off by the piercing gaze of the goddess standing right next to who he guessed was his Master.

Ritsuka looked at both of them. "Uhm. Know one another?"

Ishtar was the first one to speak. "You could say that," she said, as her gaze slowly returned to normal, her features softening. "It's good to see you again."

Muramasa looked confused for a second, before suddenly seemingly attaining clarity. "Ah. So it's you...

...yeah. Glad to see you again."

Muramasa and Ishtar walked forward, and held one another.


End file.
